The need to tidy filters through me and I start straightening out the bottles and throwing the empty ones into the trash. I mean, is it really that hard for other people to have done? It’s common sense, right?
“Leave it,” Tully says as she works on pouring some more drinks. “We’ll clean it in the morning.”
“No, I just want to…AHHHHHH,” I scream as an arm wraps around my waist and hauls me back towards the dance floor. I start clawing at it as it’s certainly not a tattooed, familiar arm.
“Ow,” a voice calls. “Quit pinching me.”
I look back over my shoulder and realize it’s Jesse dragging me away and manage to relax just a little, that is until I see the chair that’s been stolen from the dining table sitting in the center of what’s currently being used as the dance floor.
“No, no, no, no,” I start shouting, desperate to get away. I know I don’t know Jesse all that well, but having a lone chair, surrounded by hundreds of people all cheering for me couldn’t mean anything good. Add Jesse Ryder to the mix and I know with one hundred percent certainty that this is not a place I want to be.
Jesse shakes his head as he tackles me into the chair with a wicked grin before Maxen appears out of nowhere with a roll of duct tape. “I didn’t want to do this,” Maxen tells me, “But you leave me no choice.”
With that, Maxen starts wrapping the duct tape around and around as Jesse holds me down in the chair. I notice Kaylah standing behind Jesse, clearing space as Tully and Aiden watch on with amused and confused stares. “Will one of you bitches please help me?”
“No way,” Tully laughs. “I want to see what they’ve got planned.”
“Come on,” I groan as someone turns down the music. I start looking around for my boyfriend, hoping he’s about ready to show his handsome face once again and save my ass. I mean, if he knew these guys that I hardly know were holding me down like this, I’m sure as hell that he’d have a problem with it. “Where the hell is Noah?” I call as Jesse stands back to survey his handiwork.
I try to move but my arms and legs are held hostage. Jesse shrugs. “Don’t know. Haven’t seen the kid in ages.”
Damn.
“Will you at least tell me what’s going on?”
Jesse grins, pretending to think about it. “Umm…no.”
Once the boys are certain that I’m secured enough and that every eye in the room is on me, Maxen laughs. “Are you ready for your present?”
If my back could straighten, I’m sure it would right now. I narrow my eyes on them but a commotion at the front door draws my attention away. Not a moment later, Maxen breaks away and start barging his way through the crowd, clearing a path from the front door.
“Shit,” Tully grins, bouncing on her feet. “Please tell me there’s about to be hundreds of firemen strippers up in here.”
Fuck. My eyes go wide. That’s the only thing that could make sense right now. I start shaking my head, desperate to be released. The last thing I want is some dirty ass strippers rubbing their junk all over me. “Let me go, Jesse,” I demand.
All the fucker does is grin at me before winking as stepping back to stand beside his brother and Tora. “Come on, guys,” I whine, pleading with big eyes to Tora.
She looks as though she’s about to cave when Jesse leans over and whispers something in her ear before she bursts out laughing and gets herself comfortable, leaning against Nate with his arm wrapped securely around her.
Kaylah soon joins them and it’s clear by the smirk on her face that she already knows what’s going on and I shoot her a look, one that she would know means that she’s in trouble. All she does is smirk.
The commotion at the door quietens down and before I know it, I see Maxen standing by the front door with a massive box that’s currently balancing on a skateboard.
What the actual fuck?
I look over to Tully and Aiden who both watch on in confusion. Tully’s eyes meet mine and I see devastation within their depths, clearly very disappointed that the house isn’t being overtaken by hot firemen. “What the hell is going on?” I question.
She shrugs her shoulders. “I’ve got no fucking idea.”
I look back to the box as it comes rolling towards me with narrowed, cautious eyes. Surely, the Broken Hill boys wouldn’t do anything to risk pissing off Noah so it couldn’t be too bad, right?
The box comes to a stop before me and Jesse’s best friend, Tyson, steps forward to help lift the box to remove the skateboard from beneath it.
People start stepping forward, wanting to get a closer look as curiosity gets the best of us all. Maxen pulls a pair of scissors from the back pocket of his low hanging jeans and holds the scissors over the top of the box before grinning at me. “Happy Birthday, Henley,” he says before slicing through the tape.